The 15 Most Impressive Music Videos Of 2018, Picked By Visual Artists Schall & Schnabel

The art form music video is alive and kicking - if you know where to look. That's why we once again asked acclaimed music video directors Schall & Schnabel for their favourite clips from the past months and this is the impressive visual result.

Some music videos are pretty okay, most of them are pretty mediocre and then there are always the ones that manage to elevate themselves from the rest by simply being outstanding on multiple level whether it’s look, story or just the idea behind it. Award-winning Berlin-based visual artists Schall & Schnabel are experts on this field. We do not only share an office space and our Palms & Circumstances series), but also a mutual love for great and inspiring music videos that truly celebrate this special form of art. So, following the tradition we started last year we once again asked the film makers to share their favourite music video moments of the year with us. And this selection surely doesn’t disappoint.

Childish Gambino – ‘This is America’

Art Direction, Camera, Choreography

This video, directed by Donald Glover’s Atlanta collaborator Hiro Murai, is sheer perfection in its execution and details, emphazises the content of this brilliant song by Glover’s alter ego Childish Gambino. The central concept of the video – the distraction of the American entertainment industry from the brutal everyday racism against the Afro-American population – is supported by the art direction, the camera work, the choreography and the sophisticated editing.

Director: Hiro MuraiChoreographer: Scherrie Silver

Loyle Carner – ‘Ottolenghi’ (feat. Jordan Rakei)

Art Direction

The mixture of different camera format aesthetics and playfullness with persepective trickery reminices Loyle Carner‘s video for his song Ottolenghi, directed by Oscar Hudson, to Michel Gondry’s video for The Chemical Brothers’ Let Forever Be from 1999. Placed in a very different setting, minus Gondry’s affinity for dream reality, Hudson created a video that leaves the viewer wondering, how it’s done.

Director: Oscar Hudson

Tommy Cash – ‘Little Molly’

Art Direction, VFX

Many viewers, who grew up with music television back in the nineties might be reminded of Chris Cunningham’s iconic video for Aphex TwinCome to Daddy, although Tommy Cash‘s weird video brings the horror into the studio.

Directed by Tommy Cash & Anna-Lisa Himma

SOPHIE – ‘Faceshopping:’

Editing

When it comes to impressive editing this video for SOPHIE is definitely one of the best. Not only the precise cuts to the music, but the refined use of heavy contrasts, type face and movements are impressive.

Director: SOPHIEEdited by Aaron Chan

Sevdaliza – ‘Shahmaran’

Art Direction, VFX

The atmosphere of Emmanuel Adjei’s opus for Sevdaliza‘s song Shamaran is a very eye-pleasing non-narrative video that seem to combine elements from Tarsem Singh’s and Christopher Nolan’s movies.

Director: Emmanuel Adjei

LCD Soundsystem – ‘Oh Baby’

Narrative, Cinematography

Rian Johnson, who directed movies like Brick, the Brothers Bloom, Looper and Star Wars: The Last Jedi, created this narrative short for LCD Soundsystem‘s Oh Baby – the opening track from their 2017 album American Dream about two scientists and lovers played by Sissy Spacek and David Strathairn.

Director: Rian Johnson

Jack White – ‘Over and Over and Over’

Art Direction

Follwing the title of Jack White‘s song the video repeats one camera movement (and invisible editing) over and over and over again in varying versions of the same room.

Director: Us

Tierra Whack – ‘Whack World’

Concept, Art Direction

Tierra Whack‘s ‘Whack World’ is a 15 minute art piece, containing 15 one minute songs and 15 visual approaches on them. Whenever the viewer settles in for one song the next one starts and you can’t stop watching it!

Josh Pan – ‘Mask (with Away)’

Sam Rolfes created a contemporary adaptation of Paul White’s video for the iconic Björk video Hunter from 1997. Another mesmerizing visual work of team rolfes.

Director: Sam Rolfes

3D, VFX: Andy Rolfes

Aphex Twin – ‘T69 Collapse’

VFX

Simply a weird visual mindfuck for everyone who is into visual acid.

Video created by Weirdcore

MGMT – ‘Me and Michael’

Concept

Admittingly, we have a weakness for charming lo-fi videos with a lot of humorous details and easter eggs and MGMT‘s video for Me and Michael is packed with those.

Directors: Joey Frank, Randy Lee Maitland

Chaka Khan – ‘Like Sugar’

Art Direction, Choreography, Editing

Choreography, Art Direction and Editing brilliantly combined in this captivating music video by Kim Gehrig, shot at an abandoned oil station in London, empazises this soul track by Chaka Khan.

Director: Kim Gehrig

Superorganism – ‘Everybody Wants To Be Famous’

Concept, Animation

The light-hearted and positive pop music of Superorganism is incredibly well complemented by the found footage and animation video collage, created by a small team around Robert Strange.

Director: Robert Strange

George Ezra – ‘Shotgun’

Concept, VFX

The intricate production of this video, as well as the concept and execution makes George Ezra‘s video, directed by Nelson De Castro & Carlos Lopez Estrada very memorable.

Directors: Nelson De Castro & Carlos Lopez Estrada

Young Fathers – ‘Holy Ghost’

Concept, Art Direction

Young Fathers‘ video for Holy has been shot with a military thermal camera with pre-programmed camera positions which generated this alienated asthetics. The video itself seem to tell a story in fragments.

A while back we took our joyful little YouTube show too the cosy stage of a travel office at the heart of Hamburg's Reeperbahn. What could go possibly wrong? Well, actually not that much. Instead we were blessed with joyful guests who added their own flavor to each of these performances.